The Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum is the highest honour of which country?

The correct answer is D, Padma Bhushan. The Indian civilian honours run in a fixed order of precedence: the Bharat Ratna first, then Padma Vibhushan, then Padma Bhushan and then Padma Shri. Counting from the top, Padma Bhushan is therefore the third highest, and it is given for distinguished service of a high order in any field. Option A, Padma Vibhushan, is the second highest, awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, and is the option most often chosen by candidates who forget to count the Bharat Ratna. Option B, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, is the highest honour in Indian cinema and is given by the government for lifetime contribution to film; it is outside the civilian order of precedence altogether. Option C, the Arjuna Award, belongs to sport and recognises consistently outstanding performance over several years, so it too is a field award rather than a general civilian honour.

The correct answer is B, 1954. Both the Bharat Ratna and the Padma series were instituted on the second of January 1954, during the presidency of Dr Rajendra Prasad, and the first Bharat Ratna awards went that year to C. Rajagopalachari, C. V. Raman and S. Radhakrishnan. Option A, 1950, is the year the Constitution came into force and is offered because candidates assume the honours began with the Republic; they came four years later. Option C, 1955, is a near miss that is deliberately placed here, because in January 1955 the Padma award, which had first been created as one decoration with three classes, was reorganised into the three separate awards of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Option D, 1947, is the year of independence and predates the awards entirely. Read whether a question asks for the institution of the awards or for the renaming of the Padma classes.

The correct answer is B, France. The Legion of Honour was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to reward civil and military merit, and it remains the highest decoration of France, awarded in five classes of which the Grand Cross is the highest. It is also the oldest of the major national honours that papers ask about, which is why the same fact is sometimes asked as which is the oldest civilian honour. Option A, Germany, confers the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, instituted in 1951 and popularly called the Bundesverdienstkreuz. Option C, Italy, has the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, also created in 1951 after the monarchy ended. Option D, Spain, has the Order of the Golden Fleece as its senior order and the Order of Charles the third as a leading civil order, so none of these three can be the answer.

The correct answer is C, Pakistan. Nishan-e-Pakistan, which means the order of Pakistan, is the highest civilian decoration conferred by that country and is usually given to heads of state and to those who have rendered outstanding service to Pakistan; the word nishan denotes the highest class in its system of awards, above hilal, sitara and tamgha. Option A, Bangladesh, confers the Independence Award, known as the Swadhinata Puraskar, as its highest state honour. Option B, Afghanistan, has among its highest civilian honours the Amir Amanullah Khan Award, named after the ruler who won its independence in foreign affairs. Option D, Maldives, confers Nishan Izzuddeen, formally the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddeen; the shared word nishan is exactly why the Maldivian award is placed as a distractor in this question.

The correct answer is D, the United States of America. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, replacing an earlier Medal of Freedom of 1945, and it is awarded for especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural and other significant public or private endeavours. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honour conferred by the Congress itself, and the two are often confused. Option A, Canada, has the Order of Canada, created in 1967 in its centennial year. Option B, the United Kingdom, has the Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, as its senior order of chivalry, and the George Cross of 1940 as its highest civilian gallantry decoration. Option C, Australia, has the Order of Australia, established in 1975 to replace the British honours system there.